


forfeit

by tagteamme



Series: has anyone checked the mail (prompts) [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Humor, M/M, PINING KEITH, Romance, Strip Poker, What else is new, mentions of other paladins - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 04:03:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12856329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tagteamme/pseuds/tagteamme
Summary: As it is, the fact that Shiro’s shirt is tight enough to show his muscles flex underneath when he does something as simple as gesturing towards a map, is enough to make Keith run hot. If Shiro loses his clothes, Keith’s going to lose his mind in front of all the other paladins, and then will have to eject himself into space out of sheer embarrassment.





	forfeit

**Author's Note:**

> based off tumblr prompt where anonymous asked: "Can I request the crew having a night off and playing strip poker and Keith hardcore pines after Shiro?"

Keith tries to squash the idea as soon as Lance brings it up. Hunk, being a terrible enabler, eggs Lance on. Pidge, who never loses at anything ever, encourages him as well. It’s a horrible, horrible idea and Keith wants to distance himself as much as possible from it. Allura will snap all their necks with her bare hands when she figures out the truth, and then put them in the healing pods so she can do it again.  
  
Keith voices these concerns. No one listens.  He tries to voice them again covertly when Lance brings up the idea in front of the Princess. Keith has to sit at the table and watch as Lance can barely contain his glee at passing off a card game as an Important Earthly Bonding Ritual.  
  
“My friends and I used to play something very similar,” Allura muses, and there goes Keith’s out for the entire situation. “It’d be a good stress relief.“  
  
Keith tries to beg off, tries pretends he accidentally injured himself training with the robot gladiators.  
  
“I don’t think this game requires any physical effort,” Allura says when he tries to tell her this, while Lance nods eagerly behind her.  
  
Shiro raises his eyebrows, and Keith prays that he’s going to do the sensible thing and put an end to this before it even starts.  
  
“Huh,” Shiro says, looking at Lance and Hunk. “I’ve never played poker before.”  
  
This is how Keith knows he’s living in the darkest timeline.

 

* * *

 

Lance sets up the rules; if you don’t have GAC, you throw in clothing instead. There is a grand total of three people who don’t have any intergalactic space money; Keith and Shiro, because they never had any to begin with, and Lance, because he has secretly given all of it to Pidge. She insists she doesn’t need it because she is about to wipe the floor with them. Keith also has no doubt in mind that Pidge is a sharp card counter, and that Lance is looking for an excuse to get shirtless in front of Allura.  
  
Keith takes some pride in the fact that he’s actually not too bad at the game; at most, he might just lose his jacket. He’s a little concerned for Shiro, who watches with wide doe eyes as Lance explains the rules.

As it is, the fact that Shiro’s shirt is tight enough to show his muscles flex underneath when he does something as simple as gesturing towards a map, is enough to make Keith run hot. If Shiro loses his clothes, Keith’s going to lose his mind in front of all the other paladins, and then will have to eject himself into space out of sheer embarrassment.  


If Keith’s going to be honest, he’s actually the most concerned for himself.

 

* * *

 

Shiro is an evil, evil liar and Keith briefly prays that Coran will walk in with an emergency mission and they will have to abandon the game. No such thing happens.  
  
They’re all converged on the floor of the lounge, pressed up against the curving half of the circular seating area.  
  
It’s very little comfort that Lance is almost as undressed as Keith is. Allura and Pidge have a claim on almost all the GAC and Hunk’s started to break into a nervous sweat. Lance is in his undershirt and jeans, while Keith is down to his boxers and left sock.  
  
Shiro sits fully clothed beside Keith, legs crossed as he still tries and pretends this is all beginner’s luck. No one believes him.

Keith has to tilt his cards away, because Shiro’s decided that he needs to lean against Keith instead of keeping his distance. He says it’s so that Keith can help him understand the game when he needs assistance. Keith’s sure it’s because Shiro is hyper aware of what he’s doing at any given moment of the day. Keith also thinks it’s worse to feel the fabric of Shiro’s shirt rub against his bare skin when Shiro shifts, than it would have been to see Shiro shirtless. Something in his lizard brain is sparking at the thought of him telling everyone else to get lost while he climbs Shiro like a tree.  
  
“I thought you said you didn’t know how to play,” Keith says flatly, and Shiro does an incredibly poor job of hiding his grin.  
  
“Maybe I just got a really thorough rundown of the game,” he says and Keith snorts.  
  
“I’ll show you a thorough rundown,” he mutters under his breath and Lance makes a gagging sound.  
  
“Hello,” Hunk says. “There are other people in this room too.”  
  
Keith gives him the finger, and doesn’t miss the press of Shiro’s knee against his thigh.

 

* * *

 

It doesn’t take Keith long to lose the sock. Lance loses his undershirt, Hunk has to give up his headband, Allura takes off her tiara and Shiro has forfeited his fanny pack. Keith is pretty sure he did that on purpose, just to make Keith feel better. Pidge folds out of the game, and gives her winnings to Allura to keep playing. She claims it’s to make things fair, but she also claims that the sight of Keith and Lance shirtless has made her slightly nauseous.  
  
“Dude,” Lance says, shielding his eyes as Keith tosses the sock into the pile. “I’m seeing way more of you than I need to right now.”  
  
Shiro lets out a short laugh from beside him. Keith elbows him and Shiro catches it easily. His hand is warm and big against Keith’s arm, and Keith has to actively work at not openly staring as Shiro squeezes it.

 

* * *

 

It takes only ten minutes or so till Allura is smiling sweetly at Keith. His face has gone completely red and he stares at his hand, cursing the cards into eternity.  
  
“Fine,” he says, and slowly moves his hands to his boxers. Hunk pretends to be decent by covering his eyes, and Lance mimes throwing up. Allura continues to give him a shit-eating grin. Keith hooks a thumb in his hemline and takes a deep breath in. Just when he’s got just enough courage to start pulling down, a hand grabs his wrist.  
  
Shiro’s smile belies his iron grip, and he nods towards Keith’s hands. Keith looks at them and— right, his gloves count as clothing too. Shiro generously peels a glove off for Keith and throws it into the pile, and Keith tries to be discreet about rubbing his wrist when he gets it back. At least he’s red enough from before that no one notices the blush creeping down to his chest.

 

* * *

 

Somehow, Keith stumbles upon some luck, and he stays in his boxers and one glove till it’s Lance that’s the furthest behind. It doesn’t have the effect Lance desires, because Allura is too busy winning to pay attention to him.  
  
Lance calls the game when it’s his turn to take his underwear off; Hunk looks immensely relieved and Allura cackles.  
  
“This was fun,” she says gleefully, pocketing her easily-won money. “Let’s do it again soon.”  
  
“Let’s not,” Keith offers. Yet again, he is pointedly ignored.  
  
Allura leaves first, with Hunk and Lance trailing behind. Keith reaches for his pants, wanting to put them on quickly so that he can escape to his room and work on erasing the memory of this game.  
  
Shiro stops him with a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back against the lounge seats.  
  
“It’d be a shame not to finish,” Shiro says lightly, and it takes a second for it to click for Keith. He still thinks Shiro’s a little shit for pretending to be new though, so he shrugs.  
  
“I may not be the best,” Keith says. “But don’t think you can win against me. Don’t know if it’s worth playing.”  
  
It’s a blatantly lame and empty threat. Keith knows Shiro can tell by the type of smile he gives Keith.  
  
“I can try,” Shiro replies— and he does.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi/request stuff on my tumblr!! [@phaltu](http://phaltu.tumblr.com)


End file.
